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32 ArchiAfrica Magazine September 2014 ArchiAfrica Magazine September 2014
table of CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
By Tuuli Saarela, Editor of ArchiAfrika Magazine
CHAIRMAN’S CORNER
By Joe Osae-Addo, Chairman of ArchiAfrika Foundation
FEATURE: BAYELSA NIGERIA
- Interview with Special Advisor to the Governor of Bayelsa State
on Investment Cyril Akika
ARCHITECTURE IN COSTA RICA
- An Interview with Costa Rican Architect Marianella Jimenez
Calderon
INTRODUCING LITTLE SUN
- ArchiAfrika partners with Little Sun to promote solar energy
RETURN TO LAGOS 2042
changed
By Godson Egbo
MOVING PICTURES
- A travel series about urban spaces in Kampala and Johannesburg
By Thomas Aquilina
AiD EVENTS
- An AiD event about cross generational collaboration with Ghana-
ian musicians Edem and Pat Thomas
ARCHITECTURE AND ITS FUTURE
- ArchiAfrika Educational Network Lecture Series 101
with Ben van Berkel
RETHINKING BANK DESIGN
- An architecture design studio student project By Peter Odoh
SUSTAINABLE LOW COST HOUSING
- Changing Mindsets in the Approach to Government Low Cost
Housing Projects By Mary Anne Constable
ART & ARCHITECTURE AT WORK
- Mobilization for inclusive urban development
By Kathleen Louw, Centre for Fine Arts Brussels (BOZAR)
FOOTBALL FOR HOPE
- An Interview with Wahab Musah of NGO Play Soccer Ghana
04
06
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114

By Tuuli Saarela
EDITORIAL
This issue of the ArchiAfrika Magazine is
late. The original intention was to publish the
magazine ahead of our African Perspectives
conference in Lagos in December 2013.
However, the conference had to be cancelled
at the last moment and this issue, also, was left
to wait. We are now in preparations to host a
mini symposium in Lagos next month.
The highlights of this issue remain on our
host country Nigeria with center stage taken
by Bayelsa State, where we had a rare chance
to interview the Governor of Bayelsa State,
Honorable Henry Dickson and his advisory
team on the opportunities and challenges of
development in the heart of Nigeria’s oil state.
Also in Nigeria, we found a futuristic
perspective on the city of Lagos through
Godson Egbo’s narrative about returning to his
home city in 2042. Read this story to imagine
what Lagos would look and feel like in the
future.
We also look beyond Africa in this issue,
through our Chairman Joe Osae-Addo’s
travels to Kathmandu, Nepal where he visited
Ghanaians ever to enter Nepal! We also hear
from Costa Rica’s Marianel Calderon, who is
the sole woman on the board of the Federated
Association of Engineers and Architects. How
can we compare experiences and strategies
from these far off places? Find out as part
of our continuing efforts to encourage south
south dialogue.
The activities of our organization are also
highlighted in this issue, including a reportage
about our Adventurers in the Diaspora series
in Accra and a recent ArchiAfrika Educational
Network lecture series with Ben van Berkel
and 600 students of EiABC (Ethiopia), Central
University (Ghana) and KNUST (Ghana). We
are also proud to introduce Little Sun solar
lamps designed by Oliafor Eliasson as the
newest partner of ArchiAfrika!
In this issue, we feature projects which interest
us, from Mary Ann Constable’s new approach
to low cost government housing in Cape Town
to Wahab Musah’s passion for football at Cape
Coast’s FIFA Football for Hope Center. We
also provide space for the next generation to
get published including student Peter Odoh’s
effort in Nigeria to rethink bank design in a
new cashless economy.
Finally,wefeatureBOZAR’srecentinitiativein
Kampala Uganda through the eyes of Kathleen
Louw, whose project aimed to mobilize groups
inclusive urban development in Africa.
I hope you enjoy the magazine. Encourage us
by sending article suggestions and ideas for
the next issue!
Regards,
Tuuli Saarela
Editor of ArchiAfrika Magazine
DOEN Culture Programme
funds, promotes and connects cultural organizations
and collects stories about significant changes caused by
cultural activities.
DOEN believes that a green, socially-inclusive and cre-
ative society is achievable. The world is full of commit-
ted entrepreneurs eager to develop sustainable, cultural
and socially-engaged initiatives. People who are not
afraid to take risks while putting their pioneering ideas
into practice. People who inspire others! DOEN offers
these people financial support and brings them together
to connect them.
The Prince Claus Fund is connected to an expansive
global network of artists, cultural organisations and criti-
cal thinkers.
When asked what the Fund’s motto ‘Culture is a Basic
Need’ means to them, we received the following respons-
es from various project partners:
‘Culture is intricately linked to social and political ques-
tions; like food, shelter, health and education, we have an
absolutely essential need to make our individual cultural
expressions seen and heard; culture thus is a question of
our survival. Hence, it is our right to be able to make our
own cultural expressions, without having to succumbe to
the powers of cultural hegemonies.’ - Bhowmik, Bangla-
desh and India
PARTNERS

2014 has been one big
travel adventure so far.
Bayelsa State, Nigeria,
several times, Segou and
Bamako, Amsterdam,
Brussels, Durban, and
now Kathmandu. I don’t
mean to sound overly
idyllic with all these
travels, we have also
remained in the dramas
of existence in Africa and
the world. But we still love
it!!! All these visits were
meetings and conferences
on culture, development
and architecture.
Chairman’s Corner

The common thread is the sheer beauty of these
places in their own unique manner but I must
confess (hope I to not offend) my favourites are
Segou and Kathmandu. To my Dutch, Belgian,
Nigerian and South African friends, please do
not stop inviting me. I still have much love for
you all.
Segou hit all the right buttons of the visual and
the emotive kind. The powerful sensous river
Niger runs through the town, complemented
by indigenes of the most elegant kind: women
wrapped in beautiful cotton, with poise and
determination, a unique trait of francophone
West Africa, in full display at the festival. My
hosts Mahmadou and his team were absolutely
the best. Merci beacoup!
Now to Kathmandu, where I attended the
Prince Claus Fund partner days in early May.
Getting to Nepal is a whole
story in itself, as I am the
only Ghanaian who has been
issued a visa in decades!!!!
Yes, this almost became an
international incident, as my
hosts Khanak and his team,
worked tirelessly to realign
Ghana-Nepal relations
to make my trip trip possible. Whatever
happened to the Non-Aligned Movement of
countries established by the great leaders of
our time such as Nehru, Nkrumah, et al? I
thought it was to prevent such issues from ever
cropping up!!!! Kathmandu to my surprise, is
a bustling city of 2 million inhabitants plus,
and to my surprise, very contemporary. I do
not kow what I was thinking, but I had a more
idealized, romanticized impression, surely
shaped by confusing Nepal with Tibet!!!
Such ignorance is completely unacceptable
but I have since found out that some of my
most erudite friends had similar impressions
as I did. ‘Its not only me who has been overly
such as Tintin in Tibet,’ I thought. This place
actually reminds me of Accra. Yes, Accra!!!!
It’s the feel, energy and soul of Kathmandu.
It’s really all about people. Very special indeed.
One such special person I met is Kashish Das
Shrestha, a young photographer/ entrepreneur
who runs the newly established City Museum.
I am previledged to share some of our
conversations with you all. I must take this
opportunity to thank the Prince Claus Fund
who funds ArchiAfrika’s Creative Force
platform for an extraordinary partner meeting
of shared ideas and ideals. To the organisers
who were in Nepal with us, Christa, Emma,
Bertam, Khanak, Sarita and Laxmi, a special
Thank you!!!
Photo caption: Joe Addo with Prince Claus Fund partners in Kathmandu

Tell me about background. Are you a Diaspo-
ran, have you left Nepal and then come back
or have you been in Nepal this whole time?
I have left Nepal and I have come back. I have
lived in New York on and off since January
2003. I am a resident of the state of New York
and I am a citizen of Nepal. And I love the fact
that I live in between two worlds because that
is probably what allows me to do this. Other-
wise, I think if you’re just in a bubble in either
of the countries... then you’re just in that bub-
ble. But here you are constantly shifting your
entire worldview and reality. Even though I
was living and working in New York, I would
come back to Nepal at least once if not two
or three times a year. What I would do is I
would shoot the New York Fashion Week in
New York and then I would use that money
and do environmental research in Nepal for a
few months and then when I ran out of money,
it was just perfect timing to go back to New
York and shoot the fall season.
But you see that technology allows us to do
this and we as diasporans, we all have this
diasporan connection. I think it’s the future
and we need to harness it properly. I think
that at least in Ghana/Africa, people have
great ideas about this. I think it’s about con-
-
gible projects, which seems to be the missing
link at the moment. That’s what is missing!
But you have actually done it! How do you
take all of these wonderful experiences, but it
has to be embodied in something that people
can physically experience.
You can’t just keep saying, but there is
nothing like that in Kathmandu, so in the
summer I go back to New York and enjoy it.
No. That’s nothing, that does nothing. We’re
really good at pointing out problems, faults,
wrongs, what’s missing and we’re very good at
saying, this should have been done, that should
have been done, but we’re quite terrible at say-
ing we did this.
We joke about this on the continent, inAfrica,
it’s an African thing. But I think maybe it’s a
cultural thing. The thing about culture is, it
transcends geographical boundaries.There’s
something about South Asia, Southeast Asia,
Africa, South America and the Caribbean,
which maybe it’s the climate or something
which makes us have a very similar disposi-
tion towards the environment, towards hu-
manity and towards politics and the economy.
I felt this when I arrived in Nepal, Kathman-
du, a few days ago. I just felt at home, there
was a kinship to what I was experiencing and
home.
‘That buzz, you know what it
is. You can’t quite explain it
but you know exactly what to
expect on how things work
here, because our worlds
are similar in that sense. We
were talking about this last
night, the organized chaos.
You know how to maneuver
sidewalks of this kind.’
Have you done any work with Africa at all?
No, unfortunately not yet. It’s a continent that
I have been fascinated with ever since I was a
child because I was fortunate enough to grow
up with a lot of national geographic and
International Herald Tribunes, so it’s always
been in my mind, but I’ve never had a chance
to travel or work with or in it, so I hope that
comes around sooner rather than later.
11
Photo credit: Joe Addo
11

I think for the emerging economies like Afri-
ca or Asia, artisanship and craftsmanship is
something that we need to exchange, same as
with the arts. One of the things that I would
love to work with you on, is to think about
how do we bring for example, bamboo weav-
ers, cane makers, carpenters, brick layers,
steel workers, and fabricators into Africa. In
Ghana, we are losing these skills and I see it
all around me here, we have the same clays,
but we don’t build out of brick. We don’t do
it because we don’t have the pool of artisans
who can actually assemble a brick building
plant or make the brick to start with.
Yeah, it’s interesting, we’re doing an event in
June, where we are bringing in a group of tra-
ditional weavers from an ethnic community
called the Tatopani in the South. We are demon-
strating here in the gallery, how they make huge
and we will be retailing it. So it’s real interest-
ing that you recognize this artisanship.
‘We have this thing called liv-
ing heritage. This stems from
the fact that every century we
have a massive earthquake.
So the tangible reason why
we’re able to build the same
structures generation after
generation is because for
hundreds of years we had to
rebuild over and over again.
a need for it.’
In fact, the same artisan families that built the
living heritage today. However, in the last ten
years we’ve forgotten that we have an earth-
quake pending. How can you forget that Kath-
mandu is one of the world’s most earthquake
vulnerable cities? The scary part is the next
earthquake has been due for almost ten years.
So we’re waiting and it’s an any-day moment.
You’ve seen some of the city now and you see
a bit of how it is. We will see how it all ends
up.
That instability you describe has created a
kind of stable, entrenched, extraordinary ar-
tisanship! Isn’t that the dichotomy of it all?
The need and the function, right?
Exactly. There is a conversation in Kathman-
du in which we debate whether it is good or
bad that this kind of artisanship has been com-
mercialized. The genre that often comes up in-
cludes Thangka art, which is an ancient tradi-
tional Tibetan art. People complain that there
is no devotion attached to it anymore. They
see it as a pure business interaction: the wood
and stone carvings are a pure business interac-
a pragmatist, if that is how you keep the craft
alive.
Absolutely, people tend to romanticize arti-
sanship. It is in the transition from artisan-
ship to commercial application and mass pro-
duction that people develop romantic ideas.
always see it from the point of view that we
may be forced to choose: it’s either neither
or it’s all of it. Talking about culture, clear-
ly I see it all around me. However, contem-
porary culture as we know is not static, it’s
organic and evolving and it’s not about tra-
does this shape your worldview and how do
you engage in the creative community both
here and in New York?
Photo caption: The City Museum in Kathmandu. Credit: Joe Addo

I was lucky enough to grow up with photogra-
phy all around me so it was within me before I
even knew it was in me. My parents collected
art too. Somehow I knew that if I was going
to America, I was going to New York and San
Francisco. This you can credit entirely on the
American pop culture. Long before I traveled
to North America, I was extremely well versed
in its culture only because I grew up in an era
in which satellite TV and internet had blos-
somed. My family got satellite TV in the 1993
and internet in 1994. So by the time I went to
New York in 2003, it was practically as if I had
already lived there.
That’s true, same for me. We grew up through
-
zines and publications.
Precisely, and my dad had the taping of Wood-
stock 1969, he had bought it in Bangkok and
I use to watch that over and over again and
-
enced by the literature, contemporary art and
pop art from the 50s and 60s, the whole idea
of traveling the world and understanding that
‘This is the advantage of
drifting into multiple worlds
and cultures, the question
that automatically comes to
mind is: while we have amaz-
ing art in our country, why
don’t we have an amazing
art venue? Why not in Ne-
pal? Why do we assume that
the only ones who can do it?’
Photo caption: Joe Addo with Kashish Das Shrethra of Kathmandu City Museum

When I built this gallery, as people walk in, it
should just feel like a gallery and not a gallery
in Kathmandu.
I would love to hear about how Kathman-
and eliciting change in the society and in the
identity of Nepalese people?
Not yet, but also I think this generation will
and I’ll tell you why. Between 1996 to 2006
we had a civil war in the country. During that
time, an entire generation grew up before their
time. Every morning people wake up to the
newspapers exclaiming that more people were
killed in an ambush. This happened for eight
or ten years.
‘There’s an entire genera-
tion that grew up with a real
proximity to violence. By the
end of those 8 years, they feel
almost completely detached
from it. Death and war was
in Kathmandu, in the papers
and in the houses of our city
on a daily basis.’
Everyday 15 people were killed, 20 and 30
people killed. Kids who were 8 years old in
1996 spent the next 8 or 10 years trying to cope
with this. Schools were shut down. Suddenly a
violent group could show up at a school, at-
tack the teachers, burn the school busses. Our
generation lived through this and I think we
are now slowly beginning to express all of our
experiences. Some of that expression includes
people saying: ‘Screw this, I’m leaving the
country, there’s a better world out there.’Some
expression is created through music, on a can-
vas, and writings on a piece of paper.Photo credit: Joe Addo
16

‘Today, artists are express-
ing their realities. There
are artists working on cli-
mate change and its effect
on Nepal; there are artists
making art on the politics
of Nepal; others on the
ethnic politics of Nepal;
performance art is coming
onto the scene... so we are
getting there. No, I take
that back, we are already
there and our expression
has already begun. Our
expression is only going to
continue to get louder and
it’s only a matter of time
when, if nothing else, out
of shame, policy makers
are going have to listen to
the screaming.’
Photo credit: Joe Addo

Massive oil production has
brought both development
and challenges to Bayelsa
State. Please share with us
how your development
agenda balances these
sometimes opposing forces.
To talk on the effects from the point of view
of government, we would say that oil produc-
tion has brought more challenges than devel-
opment.Photo credit: http://www.aukevisser.nl
An Interview with
Cyril AkikaSpecial Advisor to the Governor on Investment
On Behalf of Bayelsa State Governor
HOn. HEnRy SERIAkE DIckSOn

The reason is structural. The way Nigeria is
structured currently, all the production that
happens in the oil exploration sector is record-
ed for the federal government, and not neces-
sarily for the state government or the com-
munity where the oil production takes place.
When oil companies come into Bayelsa, they
set up shop, drill wells. When oil is explored
from those wells, all the revenues are said to
belong to the federal government and goes into
a pool for the entire country. It is only from this
pool that it is shared between the three tiers of
government in Nigeria, the federal, state and
local government.
Despite this centralization, there is a feature
of the system that earmarks funds for the state
where the oil is produced. For oil producing
states like Bayelsa, we share in derivation
funds, which amounts to 13% of the revenues
generated from the wells in Bayelsa.
‘Comparing the percentage
that comes to Bayelsa by way
of direct revenue from oil,
we can say it’s almost negli-
gible when you compare it to
the impact of the production
on the environment and the
community that is directly
situated around the produc-
tion. That is why we say that
the challenges are more than
development, because the
development that happens in
the community doesn’t really
have an impact on the peo-
ple.’
You can understand why we say that we don’t
see development, and that we see more of
challenges, because when there is a spill from
any of those wells, it immediately affects a
community. You will not see a new city or in-
dustries come as a result of the oil business;
all you will see is an oil well. Meanwhile, the
supporting services that go with that oil well
are not even headquartered in the community,
but rather in Port Harcourt, Lagos and Abuja.
The impact of the crude oil production on de-
velopment is not a direct impact but indirect
because it is controlled by Federal Govern-
ment. Whether you are an oil producing state
or not, we share in the national revenue that
comes from oil. When a spill happens, the reg-
ulatory authorities responsible for monitor-
ing the effects are national and international
agencies. The state has little control over, and
therefore do not have rights to legislate over,
what happens when these negative events take
place. To clean up oil spillage, for example, is
usually not the role of the state government,
but rather the federal government. So the state
government would have to take permission
from the federal government to do something
with regards to cleaning up the environment.
We have waterways within the state which
are not actually controlled by the state, but
monitored by the Federal Inland Waterways
Authority. They are supposed to police and
manage the inland waterways within the coun-
try. Having this type of structure within the
country sometimes creates restrictions and a
disconnect. Production is happening, people
are living in those places and there is a state
government, but at the end of the day most of
the activities relating to oil are legislated from
the federal government and we do not see im-
mediate action when there is an event that is
negative and requires immediate response.
23
Photo credit: www.cometonigeria.com
Photo credit: http://www.
aukevisser.nl
Photo credit: ndlink.org

2524 ArchiAfrica Magazine September 2014 ArchiAfrica Magazine September 2014Photo credit: Associated Press
The way we are trying to manage this as a
government is to actively become involved
in the production process. We have decided
that the state, people and community must be
directly involved in oil production activities.
There are plans for divestments in oil assets
by major multinationals, in which the Bayelsa
State Government will take part. For example,
Bayelsa State has set up an oil company and
has entered into agreements with partners to
bid for oil blocks that are being divested by the
majors.
‘That way, we believe, the
state can become a part of
the managers of the oil as-
sets, and this way we will
have control of the revenues
that come out of the produc-
tion. Most importantly, we
will have the capacity to be
able to channel development
into the communities affect-
ed by oil production.We have
already competed and bid for
one of the assets through the
last divestment by Shell.’
That’s exciting! I would like to ask about the
historical context of the Bayelsa State devel-
opment plan. How has it changed before and
after the oil production? What type of impact
do you see the Bayelsa State Sustainable De-
velopment Strategy having on the state in the
next 20 years?
Bayelsa State before 1996 was part of the old
Rivers State which was equally part of the old
eastern region of Nigeria. Before then, it was
called the Oil Protectorate. It gained its name
not necessarily because of crude oil but because
of palm oil. Bayelsa state now owns a compa-
ny called the Bayelsa Palm Limited, which is
a palm oil company with a plantation of 1200
oil well in Nigeria was found in Bayelsa State
in 1956. Bayelsa State only came into being
in 1996 during the military era. At the time
of the creation of Bayelsa State, there was no
development plan and oil production was al-
ready happening in Bayelsa. During that era,
any plan made by the military administration
would usually be a short-term plan that does
not last longer than a year. Incoming money
was projected from federal government sourc-
es, and this was used to plan the development
for the state for that year. That was how the
structure was until the advent of democracy in
1999, after which successive democratically
elected governments tried to create a plan for
the state.
The impact of crude oil production on devel-
opment, as I explained earlier, is not a direct
impact but indirect because it is controlled by
federal government. Whether you are an oil
producing state or not, we all share in the na-
tional revenue that comes from the oil. For now
the federal allocation has been the mainstay
of the economy of the state, because it is this
federal allocation that is used for the economic
activities of Bayelsa State. The state is largely
a civil service state with almost non-existent
industries. So you have a civil service structure
and government, as well as very small, medi-
um enterprises but not necessarily industries.
With the advent of the current administration,
we have come to realise that this structure of
the economy cannot be sustained, the reason
being that when there is an impact on either
production or on the price of oil, we feel the
impact immediately on our economy, as reve-
24

When this happens, even normal everyday
activities are handicapped. What this admin-
istration has decided to do is to diversify our
economy.
‘In our development plan,
we are looking at improv-
ing other sectors of the
economy, trying to create
industries, develop agri-
culture, improve the in-
frastructure of the state as
well as put power in the
state and encourage tour-
ism, develop our educa-
tional, health sector, and
generally make Bayelsa a
place where people would
want to visit, live, work
and play.’
government. But these plans were also largely
based on projections on the federal allocations
expected. The difference with our adminis-
tration today is that we are creating a devel-
opment plan that goes beyond expectations
from the federal allocations. We are looking
at increasing the internally generated revenue
of the state from varied sources and not only
from the federal government allocations. In-
come will come from taxes, dividend incomes
from businesses that happen in the state and
generally productive activities in the state. So
that’s the focus of our development plan now. Photo credit: bayelsanewmediateam.wordpress.com

We are a design organization that also be-
lieves in planning. Would you say that you
are following a particular design philosophy
or do you see Bayelsa State playing into a
particular design philosophy?
Maybe this question would be answered dif-
ferently by a professional town planner, rather
than a politician. Looking at what I see hap-
pening in Bayelsa now as a layman and as a
may tell you something different.
’Going forward, I know that
carry out urban regeneration
and revival of aspects of the
old city in Yenagoa. We are
also developing a new Yena-
goa city, which will feature
a component of our culture
because we recognize that
promote tourism and invest-
ment, we should also fea-
ture our traditional culture.
As far as a design philoso-
phy for Yenagoa city, we felt
there was a need to create a
new environment that serves
as a joy, a living area where
people feel happy and satis-
-
ern city and environment.’
To begin this design process, the state govern-
ment set up a committee consisting of town
planners, land and estate surveyors, architects,
professional people, accountants and lawyers.
The mandate of the committee was to come up
with a design for a new city that attracts peo-
ple and business. The committee visited other
cities within Nigeria to get a feel of what cities
were doing this successfully. They also car-
ried out studies and interviews and to date, has
drafted a master plan and a preliminary report
that gives you an idea of the design of the city.
How will the different elements of your city
be realized? Is this a state initiative and how
will private sector play a role?
One of the standing rules for the administra-
tion, with regards to the transformation of the
economy, is to have the private sector play a
very key role. We feel that the private sector
can ensure sustainability whether government
revenues are increased or reduced. The private
sector will continue to grow at its own pace
and ordinarily ensure sustainability. Therefore,
the state government is focused on encourag-
ing partnerships with the private sector to cre-
ate projects and businesses that will stand the
test of time within the economy of the state.
Within the new city of Yenagoa, we have areas
designated as residential areas, others designat-
ed as commercial areas and we will have green
areas as well. The residential and commercial
areas will be constructed by the private sector.
Facilities are being set up by the state govern-
ment and commercial entities. The state gov-
ernment has already allocated lands towards
the new developments including a property,
which used to be the governor’s mansion.
The property covers an island in Yenagoa and
-
na. These areas are meant for relaxation and
entertainment areas for tourists and residents
of the city.

Talking more about green areas and sustain-
ability, do you see a role for designers in pro-
moting the idea of sustainability and the de-
velopment of local industries? Do you think
that design can actually help you with some
of the environmental, economic and social
concerns?
As part of the design for the new city, we are
cleaning up a strip of land that borders the de-
velopment area. This strip of land is by a natu-
ral creek and as of today has informal develop-
ments. In fact, a lot of them are shanties, and
many of the inhabitants are rural people be-
cause the town of Yenoagoa was a rural com-
munity until Bayelsa became a state and Yeno-
agoa a state capital. You can begin to imagine
the effect of a rural town becoming a state
capital, particularly in terms of informal settle-
ments. So as one of the direct interventions of
the state government, we are looking at rede-
signing and redeveloping this strip of land and
converting the riverfront into a multi-use rec-
reational and commercial area which includes
pedestrian walkways, green areas, shopping
facilities, and rest areas. We hope to create a
beautiful environment where you can walk,
jog or ride a bike around the creek. So design
of the new city and also in carefully preserving
the traditional areas.
‘As a state, we want to
promote culture and ensure
that when a visitor comes to
Bayelsa, he is presented with
our culture and invited to
partake in it. We intend to en-
sure that development of the
state depicts the genus loci of
our people.’
ArchiAfrika focuses on education of new ar-
chitects, young people and young design pro-
fessionals. We think about the challenges of
development and the need to bring a critical
design methodology to begin to address de-
velopment challenges. What is the role of the
educational system in improving the lives of
Bayelsa’s citizens and how does the develop-
ment plan address the most impoverished cit-
izens?
I will tell you a little bit of what we have done
in the educational sector as an administration.
Firstly, Baylesa was categorized as one of the
least educationally developed states not too far
back. That was as a result of the state being
rural and not having a lot of educational infra-
structure. Right now we are executing a plan
building and equipping primary and secondary
schools in Bayelsa state and the state govern-
ment has also declared free education in the
state, up to the secondary level. Right from
primary to secondary school, a child in Bayel-
sa state will not have to pay tuition fees for ed-
ucation and the state will also provide school
uniforms, shoes, books and textbooks. All the
parent will need to do is to just make the child
available for school. We are also encouraging
all students within the public school system to
attend boarding school in the last three years
in upper level school, the state intends to give
the youth a new orientation to help them pre-
pare for life after secondary school. We hope
to make them see life in a different way- in a
more positive way- and from there they will
move into tertiary institutions. To support this
effort, we are currently providing scholarships
for graduates and postgraduates to continue
their education outside of Nigeria. We have
about 150 scholars in PhD programmes in the
western universities, mostly Britain and Eu-
rope. We have over 200 masters degree schol-
ars and another 350 maybe even 400 under-
graduates on state scholarships. We also have
students that we picked from primary schools,
who we have sent to what we call our “Ivy
League” secondary schools within Nigeria.
33
Photo credit: http://saintmienpamo.blogspot.com

Some of the brightest students from primary
schools around the entire state have been sent
to the best schools in Nigeria.
‘The intention is to instill in
the youth a sense of nation-
alism and for them to inter-
act with other children from
different parts of the coun-
try. This experience will give
young people a national out-
look so that when they come
back to Bayelsa, they will
come back with a sense of ex-
posure and understanding.’
We are improving education and increasing
opportunity for our people so that they can
have an impact on the larger society. We be-
lieve that, this way, we will be able to affect
the ability of the next generation to take us to
the next level. For the youth who are already
drive for education, we have set up skill acqui-
sition centers where they will learn trades that
they can use within the oil industry. Right now
despite the oil industry in the state, there is
great unemployment, so we are trying to give
people the skills that can enable them get jobs
within that industry.
Similarly, the fact that there is a lot of con-
struction work going on in Bayelsa, we have
also transferred skills to workers with in the
construction sector so that residents can con-
-
ing now in Bayelsa. When people have jobs,
their level of income will increase, and then
they can begin to take care of their daily needs.
This brings a lot of stability into the system.
In the long term, these approaches will reduce
youth restiveness in the state because before
have heard of the militancy situation in the
Niger Delta and part of this militancy is also
present in Bayelsa. However, today in Bayel-
sa, the youth see a reason to want to walk tall,
become better and active citizens within soci-
ety.
It seems you are doing alot in terms of educa-
tion and in 20 years you may see the rresults.
So what is your 20 year plan for the state?
For the state, the plan for this administration
is to create institutions, structures and systems
that will outlast the tenure of this administra-
tion. The current focus is on creating laws that
will help the institutions exist even after the
tenure of the current governor. The current ad-
ministration had signed into law bills such as
the transparency bill and a savings bill. The
transparency bill talks about the governor de-
livering, on a monthly basis, his reports and
accounts. He comes before the public and
makes known to the public how much revenue
he has generated for the month in the state and
how the money has been expended. The law
requires him to deliver this report on a month-
ly basis. If he does not do so for 3 consecutive
months, it becomes a reason for impeachment.
These public responsibilities have been signed
into law by this administration, so that the next
administration- whether they want transparen-
cy or not- will have to comply with the laws.
By the time the next administration takes over,
we intend to instill a culture of transparency
and this will help to check some highhand-
edness that creeps into government adminis-
tration in Nigeria. We hope that transparency
local government level, where the executives
are also supposed to report using the same in-
struments. Once this culture becomes a way of
life, it means that the civil service will be ac-
countable to the political class. Photo credit: Associated Press
33

The entire fabric of the state will change.
Like I mentioned before, we also have a
savings act. This savings act makes the state
save, on a monthly basis, a portion of the
monthly revenues generated into a savings ac-
count. And this again, is the law and the next
administration will be compelled to continue
with these procedures. Through the implemen-
tation of the law, we have begun to create a
savings buffer that can help us to mitigate any
unforeseen circumstances.
‘This system really helps be-
cause in 2012 we had a ma-
and because we had savings,
we were able to get permis-
sion from the legislators to
take money out of the sav-
ings account to enable us to
immediately intervene with
During the crisis, we realized that if we didn’t
have that savings and buffer, there would have
been a panic around the state, especially for
monthly savings.
The focus of the current administration is in
building institutions and this is something we
are also doing with business. We are about to
launch a privatization law and the focus is to
encourage the private sector to partner with
state government to set up commercial projects
that translate into businesses. These companies
will be run by the private sector and when they
http://www.fascinatingnigeriamagazine.com

public. In this way, the state increases its rev-
enue base, and can also help other business-
es within the state to grow. Successive state
government will not have control over those
businesses, and it can do nothing about them,
The privatization law gives effect and force to
agreements with private sector partners who
are investing in Bayelsa, and it also helps to
ensure the success and ability of the
companies in the long run. The vision for 20
years will be bolstered by each of these
initiatives as we are ensuring that our laws
help to ensure success and continuity of eco-
nomic growth.
What is the unique sense of culture within
Bayelsa state and is culture something you
plan to preserve while at the same time rush-
ing towards modernity and development?
What is the message about Bayelsa State that
you really want the world to know about?
We can say that Bayelsa state is the only
homogenous state of the Ijaw tribe in Nigeria.
‘Bayelsa is the Jerusalem of
the Ijaw people. We consid-
er it important to preserve
the Ijaw culture. Through
the President of Nigeria, the
Ijaw man’s attire has be-
come national attire. Today,
you see other tribes within
the country also wearing
our attire.’
Our people are known for aquaculture or
the river and waterways and be a part of
have even made it all the way up to Accra!
However, because the areas where we live
to develop real estate. To develop land, you
the construction cost. What we are tinkering
with now and trying to experiment is having
hous es built on metal pillars over the swamps
with a fishpond underneath the house. We
have looked at some preliminary designs and
are trying to incorporate these ideas into our
mass housing schemes because they are a di-
rect reflection of the culture of our people.
This interview was held by Tuuli Saarela in
Accra.

Architect Marianela
Jiménez Calderón
An Interview with
Costa Rican Architect Marianela Jiménez
Calderón, President of the Association of
Architects of Costa Rica, speaks with
ArchiAfrika about sustainable architecture,
design and her role in transforming the face
of architecture in Costa Rica.
Photo credit: Marianela Jimenez Calderon

Your work with the Association of Architects
in Costa Rica has placed emphasis on sus-
tainability, heritage and education. Can you
talk about some real world approaches or ex-
amples of interdisciplinary models at work,
in Costa Rica which could be applicable in
Africa?
Our approach to the concepts of sustainability
has been strengthened in recent years because
we have concluded that professionals in archi-
tecture must approach the issues that affect all
people. That is why we are giving a strong im-
petus to the standard RESET "Requirements
for Sustainable Buildings in the Tropics,"
which is a design guide with seven chapters
taking into account the economic conditions of
the site where the project will take place, to the
development of construction technologies and
manufacturing of local materials. The question
allows me to take this opportunity to explain
about the process of the norm RESET, and I
can share examples of interdisciplinary work
that have enabled us to achieve a greater audi-
ence for our work.
-
ly by the IAT (Institute of Tropical Architec-
ture), the CACR (Association of Architects of
Costa Rica) and INTECO (Institute of Techni-
cal Standards of Costa Rica), for the develop-
ment of a standard for general dissemination
free of charge. The RESET generator concept
was born several years ago in the IAT. It was
in 2009 when the architect Bruno Stagno con-
vened a group of professionals, called "Junior
Group" with weekly meetings, information
gathering, studying international standards
related to sustainablility, setting parameters,
adapting information considered useful and
essential for the tropics, and gradually put-
of what would be RESET. Once there was a
complete product, the next goal was to turn it
into a National Norm, that had more presence
COSTA RICA
Photot credit: www.costaricantimes.com

and could make a real difference to local, re-
gional and global levels. Thus in 2011 a joint
effort with INTECO started forming a techni-
cal sub-committee of the norm with represen-
tatives from various national organizations and
government institutions to engage RESET ac-
cording to ISO standards and supplement ac-
cording to the requirements of ECA (Costa Ri-
can Accreditation Entity). Finally, after much
work and several months public consultation
at the national level, the Norm was presented
in December of the following year, with refer-
ence Inte 06-12-01:2012 RESET.
In parallel, the CACR supported us with issues
related to sustainability in our profession. In
2009, at the council of the International Union
ofArchitects (UIA), held in San José, the COS-
TA RICA 2009 Declaration was signed by the
President, the chairman of the CFIA (Feder-
ated Association of Engineers and Architects)
and the presidency of the CACR. The procla-
mation stands for architecture, regardless of
the form of the project, assesses the best con-
ditions for a building in your location, takes
into consideration all aspects of a construction
that must meet to provide a sustainable future
for all species. Taking up this challenge, the
CACR performed in 2012 its Biennial under
the theme "Meeting Green Architecture and
Sustainable Construction," exposing national
and international projects focused on this sub-
ject, with world-class speakers and a fair on
materials and construction products and alter-
native technologies responsible with the envi-
ronment.
The goal was to reward projects that have that
component of environmental protection as a
fundamental objective, not necessarily the
most spectacular, expensive or sophisticat-
ed. But rather projects that have greater im-
portance to construction alternatives that will
43
Photo credit: network.aia.org

An Interview with
privilege little affected soils, use of materials
and local labor, use of passive strategies to reg-
ulate light and temperature, so that the use of
energy technologies are as small as possible.
In 2013 the CACR will readopt this topic in
its Congress, under the theme "Sustainability,
Heritage, Education" because
‘We are convinced that the
implementation of sustain-
ability concepts and heritage
protection, rather than laws,
are required to have a society
educated on these issues and
that instruction starts from
childhood’
where our commission CACR "Constructed
Space and Childhood in Costa Rica" is doing
a great job. As part of that event, was achieved
the Committee on Children of the UIA, reach-
ing representatives from many countries.
‘Furthermore, within the
more sustainable to restore
existing buildings, rath-
er than demolish and make
new projects, without forget-
ting the cultural identity and
content that is rescued.’
Also every year our committee CIDECA (of
architecture students) organizes the event "Al-
ternatives for Our World Towards Sustainabil-
ity".
Since the RESET norm is ready, the CACR has
presented its advances in international organiza-
tions: FCA - Central American Federation of Ar-
chitects, the FPAA - Pan-American Federation of
Architects, at events of the AIA - American In-
stitute of Architects and the UIA - International
Union of Architects.
‘In all the RESET standard
has been received with great
appreciation, interest and
support, since it may be ap-
plicable to the entire tropical
zone around the world.’
For example, the UIA shares information on
-
ing their translation into English and French,
which are very close to completion. FCA also
has shown a willingness for the RESET to be-
come the regional standard and will begin us-
ing it in the Central American Committee of
Architecture and Sustainable Construction.
Therefore, given the interest of society in gen-
eral for starting to certify projects, we have al-
ready begun in our country the next stage with
another group of experts. Again we are re-
viewing one by one the criteria of each chapter
of RESET, this time with the intention of de-
termining the evidence that an applicant must
provide to the project to be evaluated and then
Due to the complexity and various stages
through which an architectural project passes,
it was decided to certify independent design
-
sented to the public in March this year), con-
struction and operation, which are already un-
der review and hope will begin to certify in the
course of this year.
Photo credit: barriobird.blogspot.com

There are other steps to overcome; training on how
to approach the national and international level for
future evaluators of buildings, getting state insti-
tutions and banking organizations to provide ben-
no doubt that, continuing downs the road of team-
work and strategic alliances, these will soon be-
come a reality.
In your experiences, what should be the role
of the architect in Tropical countries such
as Costa Rica and developing Africa. What
are your views on better collaboration with-
in these regions within the framework of
South-South dialogue?
The main role is to develop architecture. Person-
ally I do not like talking about the good or bad
architecture, because if it is bad you should not
have that denomination itself. So the question is:
Manyfamousarchitectshave
described this with absolute
poetic inspiration. I will not
daretoemulatethembecause
sometimes these are barely
understandable descriptions
for most people. Leaving the
poetry aside, you could say
it is the creation of space
solutions for users. It can be
that simple, but sometimes
we forget that our creations
must respond to the needs of
people and not egotistical or
banal interests.’
Also, to provide a useful solution, the architectural
work must respond to the environment. This is in
the tropics and elsewhere in the world. Now in our
tropical context, this means responding to partic-
ular conditions of sunlight, ventilation, humidity,
etc. These must be taken into account to ensure the
comfort of the people who inhabit or use the
spaces.
There is also a responsibility to provide architec-
tural solutions that take into account human di-
versity. That is why this year 2014, our Bienni-
al has the theme "Architecture for All," which
focuses around the fact that all projects, public
or private, internal or external, should take into
account human diversity. Not only because of
the different physical or cognitive characteris-
tics of each human being, but also in cultural
diversity in which we live today thanks to the
globalized reality. Also, as CACR, we have
promoted the formation of autonomous asso-
problems.
In our recent biennial, congresses and new as-
sociations have guided us towards a common
strategy: the creation of a team of thematic ad-
visers, to meet the challenges of the topics. To
understand architectural professionals requires
knowledge of other disciplines in order to face
problems that are inherently human. Thus,
teams are professionals from different disci-
plines, some architects, engineers from various
leaders and private consultants will engage
with each other. I think this kind of approach
can be applied in other regions of the world,
including African countries. This requires the
involvement of people who understand that no
profession is over the others, but all are im-
portant and complementary. This allows for
a frank and productive dialogue, which can
be among people, organizations, regions and
even between nations.
46

In Africa, one of the challenges for architects
who operate under principles of sustainabil-
ity is that clients and the public do not see or
design. What do you think about this trend
and how can architects begin to address this
misconception?
I think the only way to reverse this misconcep-
tion is to show results based on technical data.
For example,
‘It can be shown that a large
window in the sun transfers
a number of degrees of tem-
peratureinsideaspace,while
if the same window has ade-
quate cover or screen to pro-
tect from the sun, the tem-
perature drops considerably.
It can be shown that it is more
cost effective to build appro-
priate shade than to spend
on an air conditioning; en-
ergy expenditure involves an
economic cost to the building
owner. This means turning
our eyes towards the ancient
techniques, using passive
strategies to control lighting,
ventilation and general com-
fort in the spaces, but being
creative enough to give a
contemporary language, ac-
cording to the reality that we
live in today.’
This involves applying the concepts, not copy-
ing the old ways or forms literally. I want to
share with you some ideas taken from RESET
Principal Concept of RESET: More Design
than Technology.
should form the basis of policy and must be
supplemented with technology. While technol-
ogy is not excluded entirely, it is limited.
the reach of the majority. That’s the only way
to create a real change.
designs
Examples of Design Strategies:
the wind comes and accelerate speed with ap-
ertures to generate freshness.
warm up.
you have to be creative and imaginative.
and products offered by the market.
male dominated. What is your experience of
being a female architect in Costa Rica? What
are the advantages and disadvantages of your
-
cacy?
-
ence throughout Latin America, the fact of the
matter is that as years go by these ideas are
fading, thankfully. Moreover, in Costa Rica we
have a number of legal instruments that protect
the rights and freedoms of individuals, with-
Photo credit: costaricanimages.com

in our consolidated democratic system. But
the main thing is that the change is within the
consciousness of people, or the laws will not
be worth anything. In the case of my country,
during the nineties you could see a good num-
ber of women studying architecture, but with
few teachers giving lessons.
Currently, of the approximately 3,300 profes-
sionals in architecture enrolled in our school
35% are women. Note that the CACR is part of
the CFIA (Federated Association of Engineers
and Architects), which consists of 5 schools,
one of them is ours and the other 4 are engi-
neering professions. The percentage ratio of
women in those other schools is much lower
than in ours.
General Board of the CFIA Directive, where
of the 10 titular members I'm the only wom-
an. However, in past years, the Board has been
taking the presence of women seriously, even
in the position of president.We also have a
committee on gender issues, which organizes
activities and workshops that help us to em-
power and educate women and society, which
holds events for high school youth of both sex-
es, in which youth are encouraged to reach out
towards careers and professions related to ar-
chitecture and engineering.
For example, there have been conferences by
Sandra Cauffman, a Costa Rican who runs the
MAVEN project of NASA. In my personal ex-
general society, we have had very satisfacto-
ry results. I will not talk about advantages and
disadvantages on me as a woman. Of course I
have had to confront prejudice and stereotypes
etc) but that happens in many professions and
in many circumstances. And we must remem-
ber that women are not the only people who
are discriminated, but there are other issues
like culture, sexual orientiation, ethnicity, dis-
ability, age (very young, very old) etc.. Photo credit: Marianela Jimenez Calderon
51

‘Inthecaseofwomen,Ithink
the main decision is to refuse
to be victims and to assume
our role with courage.
Prejudices and stereotypes
have no basis against
dedication, professionalism
and commitment. There are
no excuses for not getting
involved and doing what you
can.’
On a practical level, how can ArchiAfrika
and your association cooperate on sharing
ideas on innovative solutions for design and
construction, with an emphasis on educating
the public?
We can also offer our CACR magazine called
"Habitar", which we do a print and digital
version also, which is visited by people from
many countries. That way, we could trans-
mit Archiafrika to many people, especially in
Latin America and Costa Rica. Also, within a
scheme of mutual cooperation, we may share
your material on our media: website, Facebook
I deeply appreciate this interview, allowing us
to project what we do to the people of Africa
and many more, and that is of immense value.
Find out more on Association of Architects
Costa Rica by visiting:
www.cacrarquitectos.com
Via Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pag-
es/Arquitectos-de-Costa-
Rica/193116537387117?fref=ts

ArchiAfrika Accra and Little Sun have part-
nered to distribute a solar lamp designed by
artist Olafur Eliasson and engineer Frederick
Ottesen. Little Sun aims to provide clean, reli-
able and affordable light to the 1.6 billion peo-
ple without access to electricity.
While Ghana boasts a relatively high electric-
ity penetration rate of 74%, many parts of the
country plunge into frequent power outages or
“dumso,” due to challenges in the power sup-
ply sector. School children suffer, particularly
in rural areas, by not being able to read home-
work in the evenings.
ArchiAfrika and Little Sun have teamed up to
distribute Little Sun solar lamps within Ghana
and WestAfrica. Little Sun is not a charity, dis-
tribution of solar lamps is a business that aims
to form a network of distributors to provide
people in rural areas with income. ArchiAfrika
Accra, on the other hand, is an NGO concerned
with promoting good design solutions for Af-
rica’s development challenges. Together, they
will create a marketing approach for Little Sun
in Ghana and set up distribution networks to
encourage the use of solar lamps as an
alternate source of energy.
Architect Joe Osae-Addo believes that:
‘Solar energy is an answer
to the demands of both rural
and urban communities in
Ghana,thesunbeingaclean,
dependable and renewable
resource. Little Sun’s design
makes it stand out from oth-
er solar lamps on the market
and brings a focus back to
the central place of good de-
sign in responding to de-
velopment challenges.”
ArchiAfrika is broadening the discourse on
Africa’s built environment to encompass the
role of socio-cultural design inspired develop-
ment. Our goal is to promote design strategies
developed within the continent, which address
the challenges of our future and engage the
next generation of professionals in this critical
dialogue.
Since launching in 2012, Little Sun has dis-
tributed more than 165,000 lamps worldwide.
Little Sun’s unique combination of beautiful
design and exceptional engineering has made
the lamp popular across the globe, and peo-
ple are discovering just how useful the lamp
is even in areas with electricity. The lamp is a
fun, accessible tool educating people all over
sustainable sources of energy.
To learn more
www.archiafrika.org
www.littlesun.com
ArchiAfrikapartners with
Little Sunto promote solar energy

LITTLE SUN ON THE ROAD
Our new ‘Little Sun On the Road’ series fea-
of the Little Sun team as they travel around
the world with the Little Sun project working
with our international distribution partners and
Little Sun sales agents – all in the business of
comes from Ali Ouedraogo, our Africa Busi-
ness and Development Coordinator. He has
been on the road in Zimbabwe working with
our partners Alight Zimbabwe Trust since Jan-
uary. Following is Ali’s account:
Darlington was sponsored by the NGO Plan
Zimbabwe. He grew up in an environment full
of adversity where uncertainty and hope some-
times walk side by side.
But with the support of Plan Zimbabwe, he is
now studying sociology at the University of
Zimbabwe. He feels an urgent need to
giveback to his community.
“I have rediscovered myself
and what I can achieve.”
– Darlington Guru
Last March Darlington was introduced to the
Little Sun project through Alight Zimbabwe
Trust, an organisation comprised of formerly
sponsored Plan children. While pursuing his
studies, Darlington started selling Little Sun
lamps in his hometown of Mount Pleasant, a
-
tion rate. He organized small campaigns edu-
cating residents about the economic and health
-
ing one community member to help him sell
lamps. Today, Darlington is the owner of his
Little Sun small business. He makes enough
money to cover some of his daily expenses,
ZimbabwePhoto credit: Little Sun

and most importantly for him he is giving back
to his community. Selling Little Sun lamps
helps me cover transportation costs from my
home to the University of Zimbabwe and has
given me marketing skills. I have
rediscovered myself and what I can achieve.
Darlington’s Little Sun business is an opportu-
-
ing his community members acquire a reliable
source of energy. He is currently making one
Little Sun are spreading in his community.
Darlinton is now working toward developing
his entrepreneurial skills and recently began
He is learning sales techniques from other Lit-
tle Sun sales agents and also sharing his expe-
riences with them.
The story of Darlington highlights the social
and economic impact of Little Sun in off-grid
communities. I hope to see many more young
people like Darlington, whose commitment to
give back and desire to explore all opportuni-
tieserves as an inspiration for others.
“The Little Sun lamps are
helping the children in my
community by providing
them with light so they can
study at night and become
successful. But many oth-
er children in other parts of
my country are waiting for
the same opportunity. And I
want to be there for them.”
Photo credit: Little Sun
58

63

Return to
Lagos 2042
Godson Egbo
This is an extract from the journal of retired
architect Godson Egbo, on his return to Lagos
in 2042, following an absence of 39 years. In
it he recounts some of the changes in the city
since last visiting in 2003.

14-05-2042
It had been almost forty years since I had been
in Nigeria. I used to go regularly when I was
much younger, but I had a bad experience
when I attempted a property deal that would
have made my fortune. I staked my credibility
on the viability of a scheme known as Lekki
Palace Towers. British investors raised £2m to
purchase land and we were promptly duped by
a guy I had been at school with! I was disgraced,
and lost face in a major way. So I turned my
back on Lagos and decided to concentrate my
efforts in the UK. Throughout all these years,
Lagos has been on my mind; a distraction; the
question, what if...? A vague desire to return;
taken the opportunity to see what I had missed
all these years.
The huge Airbus C400 superliner rolled
imperceptibly to starboard as the captain
announced the beginning of the descent into
Lagos. As features on the ground became more
discernible, I looked out in an attempt to make
sense of the geography. Below me I saw a great
sprawling conurbation, spreading almost as far
as I could see. The spread was contained on
one side by the horizon, and on the other by a
wide, glittering sea. I had expected to see the
familiar rusted metal roofs, but was surprised
by clusters of megalithic blocks and avenues
of jostling towers. The buildings appeared to
dance and shimmer in the late afternoon sun
the sun’s rays.
I didn’t recognize the airport until I spotted
the old hexagonal control tower of Murtala
Muhammed International Airport. The plane
spewed us out into Terminal 3. The doors
opened and the smell of Africa soon found its
way into the cabin. That smell!Ararely-tapped
vat of memory was opened up by that smell.
Original artwork by Lekan Jeyifo

The city’s business community had put
such pressure on the government that it was
forcedto enter an agreement with the Chao
San Construction Company of Shanghai,
and Chinese National Railways to build the
system. Since its inception, the Mono had
proved a massive hit with Lagosians to the
point where having a means of private transport
was no longer a necessity, and the Mono was
patronised by all sectors of society. If a ‘big
man’ in a big car wanted to spend his time
I spotted a Hovering Okada to take me to the
Mono terminus. “Hovering Okada, sah. I can
drop you to the Mono in great comfort and
incredible speed. Only 25 naira!” I was just
about to attempt to board his machine when I
I exclaimed in mock disgust, “You must think
I am some kind of JJC. Do it for ten.” He
smiled and shouted, “Oga, you too tough for
me. Okay, enter!” I clambered aboard, and I
felt the machine subside a little under my not
inconsiderable weight. He revved it up, and in
a haze of thin blue smoke, we were underway.
He zipped through the throng of the plaza
turning this way and that to avoid colliding
with pedestrians and other Hovokadas. Now if
you ever get the chance to ride on a Hovokada,
I would recommend it. It is a smooth ride;
there is no contact with the ground and you
have your own little semi-open cabin.
As the broad canopy of the Mono Terminus
grew to meet us, I was curious and urged the
driver to keep following the tracks. Up ahead
of us a massive, ground-hugging monolith
of a building loomed. The road seemed to
disappear into its bowels. As we got closer,
walking pace. We were now in the Guild. It
turns out that the Guild - the Oshodi Guild
of Market Traders and Allied Practitioners -
is a quasi-independent body that governs the
affairs of this small enclave of Lagos. My
driver recounted the history to me.
‘It smelt of musky earth;
of diesel and palm wine; of
kola nuts and congestion; of
honestsweatandtreacherous
bile.’
I was immediately transported back to a time
of love and the vast potentiality of heroic
adventure. I headed for passport control. A
girl in a turquoise uniform and sputnik plaits
eyed me coolly as I ambled up to her window.
Wordlessly, she took my European passport,
checked it minutely, found a blank page and
time,” she said, handing me the passport back.
Then she smiled, revealing pearly teeth, and
said, “Baba, welcome home.” I thanked her
and hurried off so that she did not see the small
tear that had begun to form in the corner of my
eye.
Having collected my single item of luggage,
I followed the signs for ‘Ikeja Interchange.’
Departing the Terminal, I found myself in a
vast plaza. At the far end of the plaza, a huge
red stone arch signaled the location of the
‘Mono’ which is the
‘The Lagos State Magnetic
Transport Medium, the
celebrated magnetic
monorail system that had
been built in the late 2020’s
when the Lagos’ road-
based transport system hit
complete gridlock.’
68

to this country in 2008,
there were many problems
in Lagos. No light, no water,
and go slow! Go slow like
you never see!’
Apparently, the traders at Oshodi Market
got fed up and started to take over the
services that the state government should
have provided. They sank boreholes, built
an incinerating generator, and installed four
massive telecom towers. Local people opted
out of the regular systems and bought their
power, water and telecoms from the Guild.
The Guild got wealthier, and started to invest
in cleaning up the local environment. People
began to notice the difference, and the area
started to become popular. The Guild set
up an unarmed patrol force, whose signal
robbers.
Areas adjacent to the Market clamoured for
the cheap and regular power; and the new
In fact, so popular was the Guild, that of the
nineteen local government seats, the Guild
were returned in twelve in the elections
of 2021. At its height the Guild controlled
the power, water and most of the telecoms
spread from Ikeja in the north, to Oworonsoki
in the east, to Mushin and Fadeyi in the south.
We reached the Mono station above Oshodi
Market. “I’ll get off here”, I said to the driver.
I paid him a hundred naira and he zoomed
off grinning. From my elevated position on
the overzoom I could see a frenzy of activity
in the market below me. The voice of a
Taiwanese trader reached me from below. He
was loudly berating a Yoruba man Original artwork by Lekan Jeyifo

Ikoyi, Lagos
dressed in navy agbada for asking for such
a preposterous discount. The Yoruba man
in turn accused the merchant of charging
criminal prices. But it was all a charade: within
moments they had retreated into the trader’s
stall to make the transaction. Looking beyond
the market, I could clearly see the limits of the
Guild.
‘Huge ten to fourteen storey
steel monolithic buildings
an almost medieval city
wall.’
Four soaring telecommunications towers rose
from the teeming centre of the Guild Zone.
I took the underpass and walked the short
distance to Oshodi Central station. The
station, a much less grand affair than the
Terminus, was nonetheless an elegant and
practical building. Fat terracotta columns,
a sloping timber ceiling around ten metres
glass and perforated metal panels faced the
small square in front of the station. I bought
a thirty-naira day pass, then stepped up to the
platform and waited. A few moments later, the
train, splashed in vivid red and white livery,
arrived. I stepped into its air-conditioned
interior, and was thankful for the cool.
Opposite me sat a man I recognised from the
couple of minutes, the train smoothly and
silently pulled in to Mushin Gardens. A pair
of muscular youths entered my carriage.
Speaking in pidgin at an unnecessary volume,
the pair were completely self-absorbed.
Looking out of the window, it appeared that
Mushin hadn’t changed much.
74
Original artwork by Godson Egbo
72

The houses still crowded together as they used
to, each appearing to jostle for space and light
with its neighbour; but the place was a lot
neater than I remembered it. And I think I even
saw a small park.
The next stop was Yaba Lotus. “Lotus?” I
wondered to myself. But looking across the
street I saw an imposing building, about 16
storeys high and a whole city block long. Huge
letters on the roof advertised the presence of
the Lotus Hotel. “I see”. The fellow opposite
piped up: “This is our Chinatown”, he said.
And when I looked up and down the street, I
wondered why I hadn’t noticed earlier. Shops
had names like Chang’s Mercantile Emporium,
the Double Happiness Restaurant, and Great
Wall Real Estate. There was a branch of HSBC.
But more striking were the faces on the street.
My companion explained that
‘there had been a Chinese
presence in Lagos since the
1960s and 70s, but that there
had been a more recent and
following the Sino-Nigerian
Mutual Development Pact of
2012.’
This agreement traded Nigerian raw materials
for Chinese technological assistance.
“Indeed”, he ventured, “this very train system
was built under the Pact.” At that moment a
huge motorcycle roared by. I could just make
out Guangzhou SD1200 on the fat tank. A
was riding it, and he had a fat-thighed African
beauty-riding pillion. The ‘sokoto’ he was
keeping his hair out of her eyes.
The ‘Mono’
75

Photography
076 The train pulled out of the station, and soon slid
into Yaba South. Next, Ebute Metta; Ijora; Ebute
Ero; Tinubu, where I was to descend. After
bidding farewell to my companion, I stepped out
into the late afternoon heat. The sun was sinking
in the sky and I made my way to my friend’s
lined with high buildings; it was like walking
through a deep ravine, dark and cavernous.
Island, so the streets thronged with pedestrians
and Hovokadas. Tired from the journey, the
myriad images recently encountered swirled
around my brain.
‘Lagos had indeed shed its
image as the quintessence of
dysfunction; but how much
the bargain?’
In my younger days, I had been impressed by
the city’s primal energy. Living in Lagos since
the reforms started by Olusegun Obasanjo in
the early part of the century, much of the biting
poverty that made Lagos such a desperate place
had softened.And now the city seemed to ooze a
sense of contentment; the punch was gone.
‘The city was a little like
a boxing champion who
became too fat: still a
fearsome prospect, but
lacking the former drive.’
I entered the sparkling atrium of John Godwin
House, and took the elevator to the twenty-
the city from my lofty vantage point, I thought
to myself, “You win some, you lose some”.Sketches by Godson Egbo

MOVING
PICTURES- Kampala and Johannesburg
Thomas Aquilina

81ArchiAfrica Magazine September 2014
In this feature, I want to show you two
photographs of bicycles, which I took on my
last days in Kampala and Johannesburg.
The bicycle as a primary mode of transport in
these two cities is rare. Its function for mobility
is underutilized. Perhaps this has to do with
the high cost of maintenance, or the safety of
the bicycle when sharing the road with other
larger and faster vehicles. In Kampala and
Johannesburg, public minibuses are affordable
and the surest way to get around for the
thick and boda-bodas (lightweight motorbike
taxis) are also widespread.
Nakasero Market, Kampala, Uganda
In a fruit market, a toolmaker toils. With a
bespoke bicycle powering a grindstone, he
sharpens knives. His hands hardened from
operating the abrasive disc. It is a clever
mechanism and, from the look of it, a nylon
string is tucked between wheel rim and tyre,
and driven by his pedalling. In the same way as
nearby parasols, a broad-brimmed hat shades
him from the searing Ugandan sun. He appears
undisturbed by the nonstop purchase and sale
of livestock and commodities.
‘Alittledistanceaway,market
traders watch the toolmaker
at work. Some watchers look
curiously,theirgazecaptured
in the photograph. However,
there is something about the
bicycle.’
Yeoville, Johannesburg
A comic illustration of a cow piggybacked
on a man, riding a bicycle. The stenciled
characters appear life-sized. But the cow is
disproportionately heavy for the cyclist, and
burdens him. Its coat is patterned to resemble
a world map. The world held aloft the cyclist’s
shoulders. Instead of a monkey on your back,
the cow is favoured as a metaphor to the
customs of traditional Zulu life. It is painted
with a black-tipped nose, a feature of the Nguni
cattle breed and indigenous to southern Africa.
The two photographs reference the same
simple subject: locomotion on two wheels,
and the images also speak of imagination and
artist are operators in the informal sectors of
cities, and they each have very different uses
for the bicycle. The toolmaker, Godfrey N.,
told me “all things in the market move around
knives. Traders need them to cut anything
from tomatoes to meat.” Godfrey, propelled
by his pedals, would usually sharpen around
two hundred knives per day. Lwazi M., a
Johannesburg resident who showed me the
of many informal livelihoods. He suggested,
“Lifeinthisconditionisalwayscompromised.”
Their carrying capacity, though, shouldn’t be
underestimated. In this upending and unsure
mode of operating, people are agile. Lwazi
assured me “They’re all heading somewhere.”
The pictures invoke a feeling of momentum.
‘To me the bicycles also
represent aspirations for
residents to change their
circumstances.’
Not necessarily an outward mobility in which
inhabitants physically depart from their city,
but a transformation of their current condition.
The photographs point to the possibilities to
reposition what already exists.
Follow on Twitter @thomasaquilina
81

g e n e r a t i o n s
PAT
THOMAS
AYIGBE
EDEM

Across Generations was an Adventurers in
the Diaspora [AiD] event which took place on
Thursday, 7th November, 2013 at the Damba
Terrace of the Golden Tulip Hotel, Accra.
Panelists
Denning Edem Agbeviadey [Ayigbe Edem] –
Ghanaian hiplife musician
Patrick Thomas [Pat Thomas] – Ghanaian
highlife musician
Ben Brako – Musician, Radio Presenter
Ama K. Abebrese – TV Presenter, Actress
AiD’s Across Generations series showcases
cross-generational collaborative efforts in
different areas of the arts. Across Generations
explores the potentials for collaboration in
was on musicical collaboration. Pat Thomas
and Ayigbe Edem, who collaborated on a
re-mix of Pat Thomas’ classic song ‘Sika ye
mogya’ were featured.
Pat Thomas
Patrick Thomas was born in 1951 in Kumasi,
to a father who was a music teacher and a
mother who was a “singing band” leader. The
wave of disco and reggae that swept Africa in
the mid-70s created differing responses in the
music community in Ghana. Whereas some
musicians shunned imported music entirely,
others like Pat Thomas adapted the trend
successfully to their unique styles. His band,
The Sweet Beans, was very popular in the
late1970’s and toured the whole country. They
also accompanied the president General I.K.
Acheampong on trips during State functions to
entertain invited guests. Once named as “The
Golden Voice ofAfrica” by theArts Centre, Pat
Thomas has won numerous awards, including
ECRAG album of the year. Hit songs include
‘Medo Wiase’, ‘Megyedzi So’, ‘Gye Nyame
Dzi’, ‘Sika Nantee’, ‘Anoma’, ‘Medo Waise’,
‘Yesu Se Bra’, ‘Marijata’, and ‘Stay there’.
His most popular song has been ‘Sika Ye
Photo credits: ArchiAfrika

Mogya’, a 90’s classic which is still popular
today.
Ayigbe Edem
Denning Edem Agbeviadey is a young
Ghanaian recording artist and entertainer who
performs under the name Ayigbe Edem or
Edem for short. Edem rose to fame with the
release of his maiden album, The Volta Regime
in 2008, which has songs like the hit ‘U dey
craze’, ‘Bra fremi fremi’, ’ Nyornuviade’,
‘Give it up’, ‘Emmre Sesa’ and ‘Lorlortor’.
This album was produced by Edward Nana
Poku Osei, aka Hammer of The Last Two.
He has collaborated with other Ghanaian acts
such as the sensational Samini, Sarkodie,
Kwaw Kesse, Kwabena Kwabena, KK Fosu,
Obrafour and E.L.
Across Generations event were:
1. The relevance of
mentorship in the music
industry as well as what
older artistes have to learn
from the younger artistes.
The panelists shared what they had learnt from
each other in their work together. Pat Thomas
got Edem interested in playing guitar for
example. “It’s good to mix with the younger
ones. You pick up so many things from each
other…” Pat Thomas said, describing an
encounter with Edem when he taught the
young artiste to tune a guitar. “We learn from
each other, and that’s good.”

2. The need for more cross
generational collaborative
efforts in music.
The panelists touched on the commercial
successes of musical collaborations such
as Obour and A.B. Crentsil’s “Adjoa” and
“Juliana”. Each artiste was exposed to a
different, previously untapped generation of
fans through the collaboration. They spoke
about how similar collaborations would boost
sales for older performers. Ben Brako spoke
about improved lyrical content as an example
of why there should be more collaboration.
He spoke about how the culture behind music
is very important. He believes that younger
artistes can learn how to better represent
themselves in their music and stagecraft from
older artistes.
3. The importance of
performing live and playing
one or more musical
instruments.
Ben Brako spoke about the richness of the
experience of of live music shows and advised
young artistes to perform live more often.
He also admitted that digital recordings were
extremely convenient and helped young
artistes to release their songs often. He thought
that older artistes could learn from this and
release more songs.
gains from music in Ghana. She pointed out
that unlike in the West, royalties are not paid
and there are no major record labels signing on
and managing artistes. She asked the panelists
how they made money off their music.
Edem spoke about monetising youtube videos
for instance and said that was a way of getting
money, even though that was meager. He
said there was a need to explore other ways
for Ghanaian artistes to make money off their
music because the foreign methods are not
applicable here in Ghana.
89

ArchiAfrika launched the ArchiAfrika Edu-
cational Network [AAEN], a partnership of
architecture schools across the continent in
cooperation with the Aga Khan Award for
Architecture and the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology. The
AAEN aims to develop excellence among the
next generation of professionals in the
African built environment.
The 10 architectural schools that launched the
AAEN agreed that strategies to address the
challenges in the African built environment
should be developed from within the
continent, in a cross disciplinary and cross
cultural dialogue, by highlighting the work of
excellent contemporary architects of Africa.
One of the AAEN activities is the online
lecture series.

92 93ArchiAfrica Magazine September 2014 ArchiAfrica Magazine September 2014
spoke about making changes to designs that
will be beamed out on site and edited in just
seconds. How do we get similar systems to
networking?”
That’s an interesting question. I don’t know
what the amount of knowledge is when it
comes to down to production techniques and
design techniques in Africa.What we have
learned is that in each country, in each
location you work in, you can adapt the
systems you’re working with to that
particular locality.So it is not particularly
necessary to always use the most advanced
come up with technologies that are local as
well as working methods that are adaptable to
the localities.
geometries that you work with might be
considered as luxurious in some contexts.
complications and possibilities of dealing
with such structures?”
Geometry has always been very important in
architecture. If you look at the history of city
development - the development of cities like
Amsterdam and Manhattan for example, the
geometry of the city has modulated the whole
aspect of consumption, production and
We shouldn’t forget that a similar kind of
quality of geometrical principles has been
playing a very important role in the making of
buildings too. So, If we talk about
consumption, production and the way that
people use the building, it’s often connected
to organisational principles. I’m not
interested in geometry itself, I’m more
interested in what the geometry can do to the
organization of the building.
And maybe, I’m more fascinated in the prin-
ciple of infrastructure and the rooting and
the way people meet on the staircase, in the
hallway, in the corridor or there wherever
you have an infrastructural knot to be brought
reason to think of the geometry of the
building.If you take the Mercedes Benz build-
ing with the double helix, the double helix is
an infrastructural idea, it’s not a geometrical
idea. It might look like a highly complex
mathematical geometrical structure, but it
started on an infrastructural basis.
people’s perception of public spaces will
change?”
The idea of social sustainabilty, I think, is a
very fascinating concept in architecture. Like
so often, I’ve noticed, when people are using
an elevator, they don’t often talk to one
another. And I think that’s not very
sustainable.
It’s not sustainable simply because, it’s not
healthy to always take an elevator, it’s much
nicer to move around a staircase because you
can meet each other, and there is, hopefully
with that, a better way of exchanging
knowledge. And I think the public space is
to be found in many places of architecture.
It is not to be found in the public square in
the city alone. No, it is to be found also in
the way you meet each other in a waiting
space, or in a corridor before you go into a
classroom, for instance. There are many ways
where socially sustainable ideas can motivate
people to work differently, exchange
knowlegde, to share more ideas, and to
interact much better than we engineer these
spaces to be.So I do believe that a form of
social science is very important before you
engineer a public space.

Bank Design
An Architecture Student Design Studio
By: Peter E. Odoh
University of Lagos
Rethinking
to promote a cashless Lagos
Lagos is Nigeria’s economic focal point,
country’s GDP. Most commercial and
CBD situated on the island. This is also
where most of the country’s commercial
corporations are headquartered. The fact
that Lagos remains the nation’s commercial
capital naturally draws many people into
banks. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s new
cashless policy aims at reducing (NOT
ELIMINATING) the amount of physical
cash (coins and notes) circulating in the
economy, and encouraging more electronic-
based transactions (payments for goods,
services, transfers, etc.). The policy was
introduced in Lagos for a number of key
For Consumers: Increased convenience;
more service options; reduced risk of cash-
related crimes; cheaper access to (out-of-
branch) banking services and access to
credit.
For Corporations: Faster access to capital;
reduced revenue leakage; and reduced cash
handling costs.
For Government: Increased tax collections;
economic development. Increased tax
increased economic development.
The most outstanding cashless banking
channels world over are Mobile banking;
internet banking; telephone banking;
electronic card; PoS terminals and ATMs.
The challenge for architects in Lagos
and Africa is to integrate these new
channels into core aspects of our banking
environment, and redesigning the banking
halls to be more user friendly.
Most banks in Lagos were designed with
more consideration given to the traditional Artwork by Peter Odoh

98
way of cash intensive banking. The typical
layout of a banking hall is an‘over-the-
counter’ layout.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
introduced a new policy on cash-based
transactions which stipulates a ‘cash handling
charge’ on daily cash withdrawals or cash
deposits that exceed N500,000 for individuals
and N3,000,000 for corporate bodies. The
new policy on cash-based transactions
(withdrawals & deposits) in banks, aims at
reducing, not eliminating, the amount of
physical cash circulating in the economy.
Nigerian and other nationals in Lagos
currently transact various types of business
through the ‘over-the-counter’ model, and this
inadvertently mounts pressure on the banking
buildings.
The following are the major limitations of the
‘over-the-counter’ bank layout design:
1. Poor personal banking experience due to
the counter barrier
2. Customers unable to easily access
information during transaction
3. Electronic features provided on the counter
are not easily monitored during usage by
customers.
Suggestions to accommodate new banking
policy:
1. Create a more friendly personal environment
2. Eliminate standing queues
3. Provide more options for e-banking
4. Allow for a more customer controlled
banking experience
Design goals of proposed solution:
1. To better incorporate electronic banking
elements within the banking environments.
2. To enhance security through design.
3. To improve corporate identity.
4. Aesthetics.
approach rear right left
Artworks by Peter Odoh

SUSTAINABLE LOW
Changing Mindsets in the Approach to
Government Low Cost Housing Projects
The City of Cape Town municipality has
initiated a new innovative subsidised low cost
housing project in a town called Ocean View,
situated a short drive away from Cape Town in
the Western Cape, South Africa. This project
demonstrates how government can play a role
in leading the way forward in the areas of
housing and job creation in order to promote
sustainable livelihoods in impoverished
communities.
The distinctive stone houses are constructed
from materials found naturally on site and the
architects have designed a plan which breaks
from the conventional box shaped plans
of previous government housing projects.
Despite providing jobs to a large portion of
the unemployed population of Ocean View,
the project is restoring a sense of dignity to
a community which has long been without a
voice.
Ocean View, originally called Slangkop, was
established as a township in 1968 as a result
of forced removals initiated by the Apartheid
government and the implementation of the
Group Areas Act.
People of “colour” were relocated from the
estimated unemployment levels of 85%. High
levels of alcohol and drug abuse have led to
crime and domestic violence. Lack of skills
and education mean that work opportunities
are few.
By Mary Anne Constable
COST HOUSING

A further lack of proper infrastructure and
adequate housing exacerbates the problem;
some community residents have lived for
decades without proper sanitation and basic
services.
In 1951, as a result of a study conducted by
the National Building Research Institute
in the Soweto Township, Johannesburg, a
design for a low cost house was developed
to meet minimum living standards that were
considered adequate for “non-Europeans” by
the Apartheid government. These typically
block shaped houses (nicknamed the 51/6)
consisted of 2 bedrooms, a lounge and kitchen
beneath a double pitched gable end roof.
Basic toilet facilities were provided as a
separate outhouse at the back of the plot. The
150mm wide concrete block walls were roofed
There were no ceilings (or insulation) and
no internal walls. 19 years after Apartheid
ended, the low cost houses provided under
the new government’s Reconstruction and
Development Programme (RDP), still emulate
this earlier “design.” Time has shown that these
typical RDP block houses are far below par for
comfortable and healthy living standards.
The thin external walls provide negligible
The
government earmarked the site on the edge
of Ocean View in the 1980’s, however the
land was never suitable for a subsidy housing
project due to the high cost of excavating the
rock material. In October 2006 a contractor was
appointed to remove the rock and the crushed
material was sold over a four year period.
At the same time the density of the sub-
division was increased to make a subsidy
and planning of the housing units only began
in 2012 and construction commenced in 2013.
Pauline Houniet, Head Project Coordinator
at City of Cape Town’s Human Settlements
department who initiated the project from its
beginning phases, explains that “the City wants
to change the perception of low cost housing.
When we think of low cost housing our minds
always go to the box RDP house typology. We
are trying to change mindsets.”

‘The Mountain View Ocean
View housing project aims
to break the conventional
mould by designing an
“unconventional” type of
40 square metre minimum
requirements. The major
innovative concept that
underpins the design of the
houses is the use of existing
stone found on site. This
material is labour intensive
therefore many jobs have
been created for residents.’
102

The unskilled labourers are trained on site by
a stone mason expert. Essential to promoting
a sustainable livelihood is the transfer of
knowledge to the community so that they will
able to apply their learning in the future.
The City approved additional funding from
the Mayor’s Special Job Creation Programme
Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
The building contractor for the project, the
Mellon Housing Initiative, facilitates the
EPWP programme as well as engaging with
the local community in order to respond to
conception of an “out of the box” plan. Of the
543 houses, there will be 5 different “types”,
explainsArchitect,Andre Spies from Twothink
Architects (appointed in association with
Etienne Bruwer). Type A houses are currently
under construction in Phase 1 of the project.
The house is roofed with concrete roof tiles
which have better insulation properties than a
conventional tin roof. A dropped ceiling below
conceals a truss and extra insulation above.
Structurally, the stone is packed against a steel
formwork. Concrete blocks are used at window
and door openings to create smooth edges
to the stone walls making it easier to install
no gutters on the roofs, a splash apron runs all
the way around the footprint of the house to
draw water away from the foundations.
The house has a T-shape plan and each share
a boundary wall with the one next door which
saves space (the walls are 390mm thick).
The shape of “T” plan helps to articulate
the different spaces inside the house as well
as creating open spaces outside that allow
for future additions. In so doing, the houses
actually seem to be bigger than the 40 square
metre area, explains Spies.
105
resident can add a unique identity to their
house. Stone that is procured locally provides
block construction, providing comfortable and
healthy living conditions.
This unique project is a positive step towards
initiating change in the way low cost housing
projects are conceptualised and delivered. It is
expectedthatitwillgenerateamodelforsimilar
projects both locally in the Western Cape
and nationally (and perhaps internationally).
Collaboration and buy-in from different
interest groups has been essential.
‘The process has involved a
greatextentoflearningandit
isimportantthattheselessons
are used to create better and
government subsidy housing
projects in future.’
Mary Ann Constable
Two Think Architecture
Photo credit: Mary Ann Constable

Mobilization For Inclusive Urban Development
The Road to Kampala
In September 2012, the Centre for Fine
Arts in Brussels (BOZAR) organized the
regional conference How art and architecture
can make city development inclusive and
sustainable in Kampala, Uganda. This event
was part of larger traveling urban platform
project Art at Work, an experiment designed
and access to culture in civil society. The
project’s simple format called for an open-air
wooden exhibit pavilion designed by architect
David Adjaye, placed in public spaces and
sheltering temporary African contemporary
photography exhibits conceived by Simon
Njami and local curators, as well as parallel
workshops for artists. Launched at the
3rd EU-Africa summit n Tripoli, it was
produced in six African capitals from 2011
to 2012 (Addis Ababa, Cairo, Harare,
Kampala, Bujumbura, and Nairobi), with
the support of the European Commission.
Throughout the duration of this project,
public, press and institutional reception
values: the commitment of a new generation
of African artists, arts professionals creativity.
Art at Work, the itinerant
experimental urban project
launched by BOZAR and
the European Commission,
ralliedlocalculturalpartners
and UNHabitat in its path,
and became a lobbying
and rallying instrument.
ARCHITECTURE
and ART at work

of Uganda, Kampala City Authority Council,
Bayimba Cultural Foundation, and Makarere
University, and the valuable collaboration
of the Aga Khan Development Network
ArchiAfrika and UN Habitat. The Declaration
of Kampala was adopted at this forum, as an
example of commitment that can rally regional,
art and architecture around the common goal of
inclusive and sustainable urban development
in African cities.
of Uganda, Kampala City Authority Council,
Furthermore, and more
importantly, this project and
particularly the Kampala
conference, through the
people it mobilized, became
the embryo of a small but
powerful multidisciplinary
and multi-institutional lobby
for the cause of people-
focused and culture-based
urban development.
The Conference
The idea of adding a regional component to the
KampalaeditionoftheArtatWorkprojectcame
from existing local momentum for regional
connectedness, from the attempted traveling
East-African Art Biennial (EASTAFAB),
to the Bayimba festival, the new Kampala
contemporary art biennial (KLAART12),
and the country’s Jubilee celebrations of
independence, all happening within the same
period, Fall 2012. A regional conference How
art and architecture can make city development
inclusive and sustainable was thought to be a
worthy initiative to stimulate intra-African
exchange on the issue of urban development,
and to complement well the artists workshops
of the Art at Work project.
Around a keynote presentation by David
Adjaye, the conference succeeded in gathering
over 70 professionals from the East African
Region - mayors, planners, architects, and arts
professionals - all engaged in the challenge
of Gender, Labour and Social Development,
108
Photo credit: Kathleen Louw

bottom-up, urban culture-based, asset-focused
initiatives that foster re-imagining of the city,
and harmony among citizens; bridge the gap
between civil society and national urban
policies by showcasing these types of models;
and develop context-based narratives for
sustainability. The collaboration continued in
November 2013 with the panel The Value of
culture and creativity in urban development at
European Development Days, the European
Commission’s annual event focusing this year
on the new development goals of its ‘A decent
life for all’ vision. For this event, BOZAR,
the European Commission and UN Habitat
cultural, planning, business, and architecture
in various parts of the world (including Joy
Mboya of the GoDown Arts Centre of Nairobi;
M.A.
Masunda, former mayor of Harare; Indian
planner Shipra Narang Suri, and Carlos
Jamarillo; the former head of planning in
Medellin, named the most innovative city of
the year by the Wall street Journal in 2012).
This panel was in fact the only discussion in
this forum planned around the topic of culture,
and its objective is to argue for the need to
integrate fully art, architecture, public spaces,
culture and creativity into the post-2015
development agenda.
What Next?
without culture, and no development can be
sustainable without it. In tandem with the
priority issue of urban development - ‘the
according to the World Bank - we need to
element for social cohesion and the exercise
of democracy in the fast-growing and young
cities of the developing world. Indeed, in
today’s globalized world and information
Bayimba Cultural Foundation, and Makarere
University, and the valuable collaboration
of the Aga Khan Development Network
ArchiAfrika and UN Habitat. The Declaration
of Kampala was adopted at this forum, as an
example of commitment that can rally regional,
art and architecture around the common goal of
inclusive and sustainable urban development
in African cities.
The Impact
A chain reaction of interventions in various
high-levelforahasbeenatworksinceKampala,
thanks to the engagement of many dedicated
institutions and individuals. In October 2012,
the Ugandan Minister of Gender, Labour and
3rd meeting of the culture ministers of ACP
to evoke the conference held in Kampala, and
ask that the assembly adopt a resolution in this
Resolution No. 21, under the chapter ‘capacity
building’, read as follows: ‘[The Ministers of
culture of ACP countries] propose measures
to value the role of arts and architecture
to the service of inclusive and sustainable
urban development in ACP cities.’ In April
2013, BOZAR, the European commission,
and ArchiAfrika were invited to organize
a side event at the 24th Governing Council
meting of UN Habitat. The event, labeled
Art and Architecture at Work included two
presentations, one by South African architect
Heinrich Wolff, on his socially-engaged
architectural work in South Africa, and the
other by Joy Mboya, director of the GoDown
Arts center in Nairobi, on its upcoming new
city-wide festival Nai Ni Who. Our speakers
made these recommendations to UN Habitat:
reinforce its mandate by watching, learning
from, and documenting successful, inclusive,
111
Photo credit: Kathleen Louw

__ARCHIAFRIKA ENGLISH 090914

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